Naval Iron Dome operational

The Israeli Air Force completed deployment of the Iron Dome missile operated by air defense fighters on board the Saar 5 missile ship on Monday.

Over the past few days the Navy and Air Force conducted a series of pre-planned tests to examine the system's capabilities.Tests were conducted under the leadership of the "Homa" heads in the Administration for the Development of Weapons and Technological Infrastructure. Homa stands behind the development of the State of Israel's multi-layered defense system, including the Iron Dome, David's Slingshot, and Arrow systems. Homa, a joint administrative body under the Defense Ministry and the IDF coordinates between the Ministry of Defense, the IDF, the military industries, Israel Military Industries, Israel Aerospace Industries, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, the Institute for Biological Research and the Space Agency.

Iron Dome battery

Flash 90

Rockets were fired at the ship, simulating current threats in the theater.The firing was tracked using the Adir radar and intercepted by a Tamir missile from the Iron Dome launcher.The experiment was successfully completed and the rockets, which simulated a threat to strategic sea assets, were intercepted.

"The good news is that this is actually an additional layer of capabilities that the Air Force has on land and in the air," said Navy Chief of Staff Brigadier General Dror Friedman.

"The ship performed in uniform concert," says Brigadier General Friedman, "and they were all combined: the air force, the navy, and intelligence."

Brig. Gen. Tzvika Haimovitz, Commander of the Air Defense Division, added that "all the targets they intended to intercept today in the experiment were intercepted in all scenarios, and we challenged ourselves in a large number of scenarios.In fact, any ship in the sea can be identified by the new radar, plus the Adir radar and other radars - so we're on an altogether different level."

The IDF said that "this renewal will lead to a significant increase in the defense system's reach and will allow spatial protection of the strategic assets of the State of Israel in the sea and of the naval forces operating in the area."

The defense establishment already has a double-digit inventory of ground-based Iron Dome systems. A naval Iron Dome is a significant additional force.